IKEA's experimental design lab SPACE10 works in collaboration with creative product company oio studio on the Products of Place map. It is designed as a means to highlight the perspective of how tableware is made in different places. It highlights locally abundant materials in the interactive map, allowing users to showcase how the plates could be manufactured within 140 regions.
It uses resources that would normally be tossed away or would otherwise become excess supply. SPACE10 explains that "Nature doesn’t ship worldwide. Each bioregion is the product of a unique recipe—variations in sunlight, soil type, rainfall, and predator hierarchies inform what plants and animals call a place home." It continues, "AI enables designers to quickly attune to what is already at their fingertips—to create more meaningful objects with fewer product miles, lowering the emissions of the things that make our homes."
Locally Focused Visionary Tableware
IKEA's Design Lab Presents the New Products of Place Campaign
Trend Themes
1. Local Sourcing - Exploring locally abundant materials to create sustainable tableware products.
2. Interactive Manufacturing - Using an interactive map to showcase manufacturing possibilities in different regions.
3. AI-driven Design - Leveraging AI technology to create more meaningful objects with lower emissions.
Industry Implications
1. Sustainable Tableware - Opportunity for businesses to focus on using locally sourced materials and reducing product miles to create eco-friendly tableware products.
2. Interactive Design Tools - Developing interactive tools that enable manufacturers to explore manufacturing possibilities based on local resources, reducing waste and transportation.
3. AI in Product Design - Utilizing AI technology to optimize the design process, create more sustainable products, and lower carbon emissions in the home goods industry.